The End of An Era
by thunderouswarlock
Summary: Starts after "A House Is Not A Home". What happens after the season finale ends? RoryLogan


The End of An Era

Chapter One: On the Outside Looking In

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Season Finale!

AN: So sorry, but this doesn't include much Rory/Logan interaction yet! Not to worry, there's be much more in future chapters. This is my first Gilmore Girls Fanfic, so please take it easy on me!

Lorelai was completely shocked. Had she just heard what she _thought_ she had just heard? How could her parents be saying this to her just hours after their last discussion, where they had agreed with her? She abruptly stood up and stalked over to the dining area.

"Lorelai, what on earth are you doing?" Emily Gilmore enquired.

"I was sitting right here. We had a bit of small talk before we finally reached the reason I came here in the first place. We discussed Rory's problem, and you agreed with my decision. I come here to plan a surprise attack on Rory, and I find out that you've _changed your mind_. Am I getting this down correctly?" Lorelai said, clearly frustrated.

"Yes, Lorelai, That was out position at the time—" Emily began to say, but was quickly cut off.

"So then what the hell happened between this morning and now to change your mind?" Lorelai demanded, distraught and nearly in tears.

"Well, Rory came to us and explained her side of what happened. She also explained that she needs to take this time off in order to make sure that she wants to go into journalism. Now, this is not a decision to be made lightly, and we do not wish for her to regret this decision later in life. If this is how she wishes to proceed in this matter, then we have no choice but to support her decision," Richard Gilmore offered in explanation.

"Fine, but just for the record, I think that you are making a huge mistake encouraging this behavior. She needs to learn how to stand up for herself. However, since I can't change your mind, I just sincerely hope that, in this case, I am completely wrong. For Rory's sake, I hope you're making the right decision, I really do," Lorelai spat out before turning on her heel and walking out of the house, slamming the front door behind her.

.:\:.

Lorelai went to walk back to her car, but saw that the light was on in the pool house. 'Rory must still be unpacking,' she thought. Wearily, she turned to walk to the pool house. As she approached, she saw that Rory was indeed still unpacking her things, objects that were all too familiar to her. Rory's books, her precious leather-bound volumes, and the little knickknacks littered across the room when they should have been carefully placed in Rory's room in Stars Hollow. At that thought, Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks. The glass that stood between them physically was like the wall that stood between them figuratively. For a while now, the mother-daughter duo had been slowly drifting apart.

It had only really started to show after the whole Dean incident had happened. Lorelai had seen that Rory was making a mistake, but she had been unable to stop her, to prevent the imminent heartbreak. Then Logan had come into the scene, challenging Rory, and causing her little girl to finally grow up. She saw Rory becoming more and more independent, and it had saddened Lorelai that her princess didn't need to rely on her as much anymore. She sensed that Logan had real potential to be 'the one', the potential that none of Rory's previous boyfriends had possessed.

Dean had been safe, like a starter boyfriend should be, and hadn't posed a threat to the mother-daughter relationship. And so, Lorelai had endorsed that relationship, hoping to keep her little girl to herself just a little while longer. Jess came upon the scene and threatened the delicate balance between Rory and Lorelai, causing Rory to start drifting away, little by little. Though Lorelai didn't like it one bit, for the most part she stayed quiet, only occasionally voicing her disapproval. The reason? Jess didn't have staying power, the effects he had on their relationship temporary. Jess was simply too troubled himself to have a meaningful relationship with anyone for long at the time, even a girl as wonderful as Rory.

However, he had serves his purpose, Lorelai supposed. He had helped shape the Rory that was able to fall for a guy like Logan. Without her relationship with Jess, she would have been unable to see past the exterior Logan presented to everyone else. Logan, he made Rory _so happy_, he really did. Lorelai wanted to be happy for the couple _so_ badly, and she was in a way, but her need to have her relationship with Rory to stay the same overshadowed the joy she felt for the duo. She needed one constant in her life, to know that she came first with at least on person in her life. She knew that this was irrational and selfish, but she couldn't help it. Things were changing, and she didn't like it at all. The harder she resisted, it seemed, the worse the situation became, but she realized that a chapter of her life was closing. It was truly the end of an era, and the uncertainty of it all terrified her.

.:\:.

As her musings came to an end, Rory happened to turn her head to look outside and saw Lorelai there, still looking deep in thought. Rory froze, her mind racing.

'What is she doing here?' Rory wondered.

Suddenly their gazes locked for a split second before Lorelai turned to head back to her car. She walked with her shoulders slumped, head bowed, feet shuffling along, never leaving the ground. This was the gait of a defeated woman, a far cry from her normal energetic, confident stride. As she walked away, though no words had been exchanged, a note of finality lingered in the air. Neither Gilmore was sure of what had just transpired between them, but both felt saddened, a feeling of emptiness in the pit of their stomach.


End file.
